Opera at the Time of COVID-19: Intermediality and Scenic Rewriting in Mario Martone’s Film-Theatre Triptych
Abstract
This article examines Mario Martone’s film-theatre triptych – Il Barbiere di Siviglia (2020), La Traviata (2021), and La Bohème (2022) – realized during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conceived for empty theatres, these hybrid works merge cinematic and operatic languages, turning absence into a narrative resource. Through editing, spatial reframing, and metatheatrical devices, Martone redefines operatic staging, transforming theatre into cinematic space. His approach challenges traditional performance boundaries and opens new aesthetic and political paths for opera in the context of audiovisual media and contemporary crises.
Submitted: May 12, 2025 | Accepted: June 11, 2025 | Published Oct. 22, 2025 | Language: en
Keywords Opera and cinema convergence • Media archaeology of opera • Intermediality • COVID-19 and performing arts • Mario Martone
Copyright © 2025 Lorenzo Rossi. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
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